Almost everyone has heard the memorable roar of Godzilla. In its now 70-year history, the giant monster has had countless movies. However, it is much more than just a simple giant lizard.
Godzilla is one of the most important monsters in film history. It made its first appearance in 1954 in the film Godzilla
directed by Ishirō Honda, who also wrote the screenplay. To this day, there are 38 films and several series, games, and other works.
By the way, Godzilla is called Gojira
in Japanese, and it consists of the words gorira
(gorilla) and kujira
(whale).
Over 70 years, Godzilla has received several variations, which is why there are also different origin stories. In this article, we mainly focus on the origins of Godzilla, but we also include the films Godzilla Minus One
and Shin Godzilla
.
In the latest Godzilla film, the monster fights alongside Kong:
Godzilla the Dinosaur
What is Godzilla anyway? In the first film, which also launched the Showa era (1954 to 1989), Godzilla was originally a type of dinosaur that likely lived both in the sea and on land. But there were nuclear weapon tests by the USA on the Bikini Atoll.
The tests caused Godzilla to mutate and become the giant lizard that later destroyed Japan. In the film itself, the character Dr. Yamane assumes that the bomb also destroyed Godzilla’s habitat, which is why it then came ashore.
Similar events can be seen in the film Godzilla Minus One (2023). At the beginning of the film, Japanese soldiers are fighting a dinosaur on an island against which they cannot do anything. However, this dinosaur is only as big as a truck. Later, this creature also becomes the colossal Godzilla.
Due to the mutation, Godzilla also gained its destructive Atomic Breath
. This is its radioactive laser beam, capable of destroying entire cities like a weapon of mass destruction. Its mere existence poses a threat in many variations because it emits radioactive radiation.
At the end of the first film, Godzilla is also killed by another human weapon. However, in the 2nd film, another Godzilla appears, which also became the protagonist of many further sequels.
Godzilla is more than just a big monster; he is a symbol
What does Godzilla symbolize? As seen in the first film, Godzilla is not fundamentally an evil monster that consciously wants to destroy humanity. Godzilla is also just a victim of nuclear weapons and a symbol of the disasters in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after atomic bombs were first used in history.
This trauma processing becomes even clearer at the end of the film. There, Dr. Yamana says: But if we continue to conduct atomic tests, it is possible that somewhere in the world another Godzilla will appear
(via inkstickmedia.com).
Although many films featuring Godzilla became sillier and more action-packed, the series has repeatedly returned to these themes. As Billy Bernfeld writes for The Crescent Magazine, the film Shin Godzilla from 2016 is a metaphor for the Fukushima disaster.
In 2011, a tsunami caused by an earthquake damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant. As a result, radioactive substances escaped and contaminated parts of the country.
Shin Godzilla deals not only with the monster, which in this film has an even more terrifying design, but also criticizes the Japanese bureaucracy.
Although the very first Godzilla was just a guy in a costume, much more was hidden in the monster that can destroy entire cities. This is likely the reason why the fascination continues even after 70 years. You can find another big monster here: Everyone knows the sandworms from Dune, but very few know what they really are
